Giro d’Italia releases details of Danish opening stages

Three day opening for the Corsa Rosa’s first ever visit to Scandinavia

RCS Sport, the organiser of the Giro d’Italia, has released details of the opening three stages of next year’s race, which is to start in the city of Herning, central Denmark. 2012 will see the Corsa Rosa’s first ever visit to Scandinavia, although it has started outside Italy on several occasions, with the latest being 2010 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

“From the very first day, we have experienced a great involvement and a high degree of professionalism on the Danish organisers’ part and, certainly, the route designed for the first three stages of the Giro d’Italia 2012 reflects this,” said Michele Acquarone RCS Sport General Manager at a press conference in Herning’s HEART Museum. “I am very much looking forward to introducing the Corsa Rosa to the Danish population. Let me put it this way: the world’s toughest bike race in one of the world’s most beautiful countries meets the world’s happiest people.”

The race will begin with on May 5th with an 8.7km time trial in Herning, the hometown of 1996 tour de France winner, and Saxo Bank-SunGard team owner, Bjarne Riis. Stage two will consist of a 206km out and back loop from Herning to the north west coast of the country, where the course will cross the sand dunes and be open to the wind from the North Sea.

The race will then transfer to Horsens, on the east coast of Jutland, for the 190km third stage, which will run out and back along Horsens Fjord and finish with three 14km circuits in the city.

“The riders are not only in for a challenging course, they will also become acquainted with some beautiful scenery and enthusiastic crowds of spectators along the road,” said Joachim Andersen, president of the local organising committee. “No doubt, it will be a fantastic experience for the host cities Herning and Horsens and their citizens, but also for the visitors from outside the host region, whom we are looking forward to welcoming.”

The 2012 Giro d’Italia start will be the second major cycling event to be hosted by Denmark in quick succession, following the World championships, which were held in the country’s capital Copenhagen recently.

“Only a few days ago, Denmark staged a magnificent UCI Road World Championships event with thousands of enthusiastic spectators in Copenhagen and along the circuit in North Sealand,” added Lars Lundov, CEO of Sport Event Denmark. “Thanks to the massive international media coverage by hosting events like that, and indeed also the coming Giro d’Italia 2012, we are able to come across with the message that we are a bike loving country and that we like to offer the Danish citizens great sports events on home ground.”

RCS Sport also released details of the seventeenth stage of the race recently, which will cross the Passo Valpardila, the Passo Duran, the Forcella Staulanza and the Passo Giau, before finishing in the Dolomiti ski resort town of Cortina d’Ampezzo. Full details of the three-week race will be revealed at the official presentation on October 16th, the day after the Giro di Lombardia.